Page 85 - Security Today, July/August 2022

“We value safety, and this project has increased our ability to provide a safe and secure environment for our learners and staff." — Tim Kantor, LVSD Superintendent
“After doing our due diligence and working with Milestone in the past, we knew that their open VMS solution was the best one for this project,” said Michael Stohon, President at In-Shore Technologies. “What we really liked about the Milestone solution was that the end user is not tied to one particular camera vendor, as you can easily expand the system to accommodate growth and upgrade when new
By Paul Messenger
camera technology is released.”
With a range of benefits that includes superior technical support,
ease of use, cost and performance, the Milestone open platform VMS even helped administrators carry out COVID-19 contact tracing and prevent the spread of the virus—in addition to mitigating security risks. When an incident occurs, administrators can now quickly access the VMS and review the security footage to investigate an event with law enforcement. The use of an advanced video surveillance system has helped identify when and where safety issues are occurring on school grounds. With the proper evidence caught on camera, disciplinary measures can be taken to prevent future incidents.
“We value safety, and this project has increased our ability to provide a safe and secure environment for our learners and staff,” said Tim Kantor, School Superintendent at Ligonier Valley School District. “This project has been completed seamlessly along with all of the other projects completed that involve our district’s technology.“
Centralized Search Simplifies Investigation of Incidents
Rich in history, Ligonier is home to Fort Ligonier, where the Battle of Ligonier took place in 1758 during the French and Indian War. The Fort is an equidistant four-minute drive from Ligonier Valley Middle School and Ligonier Valley High School. The historic Ligonier Valley is recognized by Country Living Magazine as one of “The Most Charming Small Towns in America” and by The Washington Post as a “Small-Town Charmer.”
Ligonier Valley School District is a Southwest Pennsylvania public school district located in Ligonier serving students from pre-K to 12th grade. Responsible for the safety of 1,450 students and around 250 staff members, LVSD is considered average in size among all 500 school districts in Pennsylvania. LVSD has 230.03 square miles of land area and 0.82 square miles of water area. The district office oversees four schools, including two elementary schools, one middle school and one high school. It offers two classrooms from birth to age three, 36 dual enrollment college classes and a customized learning approach that allows students to progress at their own pace with the help of a teacher or learning coach. Students in grades 10–12 at the district's high school can attend the Eastern Westmoreland Career and Technology Center in Derry Township.
Since the school district had a low rate of safety incidents in the past, administrators wanted to preserve their safety profile and knew it was time to implement a centralized security system. It was important to the school to monitor both the interior and exterior of all the buildings that make up the school grounds. A total of 245 video surveillance cameras were installed throughout the district in hallways, stairwells, cafeterias, entrances, parking lots and building exteriors. LVSD’s previous security system was outdated and consisted of 16-channel DVRs set up at different locations. This created issues because footage playback was time-consuming and exporting video was cumbersome, delaying responses to potential emergencies.
LVSD needed a solution that offered a consolidated overview of the grounds with built-in system alarms for immediate visual verification. The new system also needed to have efficient video playback capabilities to make video investigation faster. Milestone’s open
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